FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT BOB HOPE AIRPORT

It took more than 25 years, but a section of roadway in the middle of two pieces of land that Bob Hope Airport officials bought in the late 1980s will finally no longer be a public street. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority purchased two parcels, called the “Hazel Martin” and “Old Trappers” properties, in 1988 so it could widen the taxiway on the north side of the airfield. The widening allowed aircraft to pass each other rather than having to pull onto the runway if the order of take-offs changed.

Bob Hope Airport saw a roughly 5.2% decline in passengers last year, however, officials were cautiously optimistic to see December numbers rise about 1.2%, according to the latest report. The airport handled about 3.88 million passengers last year, down from slightly more than 4 million passengers in 2012, according to figures released Monday by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. There were 334,878 travelers in December, up from 330,966 in December 2012, making it one of three months that saw slight increases in passenger counts last year.

Travelers heading to Bob Hope Airport may notice a huge banner hanging from an air-traffic control tower depicting an airplane flying out of a glass jar filled with clouds. The art piece was the vision of six student artists from John Burroughs High School, and was among three pieces chosen from 186 entries as winners of the airport's Tower Banner Student Art Contest, with this year's theme “The Sky's the Limit.” “It's neat to know that hundreds of thousands [of] people… will get to see this artwork while traveling through,” said Jordan Lopez, who graduated last year and was involved in designing the piece.

If you are one of those travelers who leaves no rewards-earning stone unturned, you might want to consider signing up for the loyalty program at Burbank Bob Hope Airport. Southwest Airlines just joined the list of partners for the program that's the first of its kind in the state, the airport announced Monday. Here's how it works: Members earn one airline mile or two hotel points for every dollar spent shopping, eating or parking at the airport and at 170 participating airport vendors nationwide.

Burbank's Bob Hope Airport has begun offering PreCheck, the airport screening program that lets pre-approved travelers get through security faster. The Transportation Security Administration program is now in place at 103 airports across the U.S.; there are more than 450 commercial airports. In the Los Angeles area, LAX , Ontario , Long Beach , John Wayne/Orange County already have the program. That means travelers at those airports, if they are members of PreCheck, do not have to remove shoes, belts or jackets and can keep their liquids (still no more than 3 ounces)

A 14-year-old female student at John Burroughs High School was cited and released Monday after reportedly coming to school drunk, police said. Police and paramedics were called to the school just before 9 a.m. after a teacher noticed the student “acting strange” and smelled of alcohol, said Burbank Police Sgt. Darin Ryburn. The student, who was not identified because she is a minor, was transported to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center after reportedly becoming argumentative and slightly combative with authorities.

The amount of commercial and industrial development slated for a 58-acre parcel held in trust for the Bob Hope Airport will be substantilly reduced from up to 3 million square feet to about 2.3 million square feet, airfield officials decided Monday. Members of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority voted for the reduction as part of a Development Application Package to the city of Burbank. Potential uses for the parcel, known as the “Opportunity Site,” could include several types of office space, flex/industrial, retail and hotel.

Will Rogers' op-ed in the Nov. 23 Leader (“Airport development may be a terminal mistake”) made some important points. Yes, it is discouraging that so few residents bothered to attend this important meeting. It's also true that in a representative democracy the default setting is that lack of participation is assumed to mean acquiescence to the actions of elected officials. What is most interesting about this process so far is the lack of comment about the high-speed rail project.

Roughly 14 months from now I expect a howl of outrage will roll across Burbank, one angry enough to ignite politics, enrage residents, terrify many who've bought homes, and create a tsunami of activists with furious charges of corruption, double-dealing and government secrecy. Worse, I'm gravely concerned it will come far too late to do anything productive for the city's residents and businesses. At a Nov. 14 meeting of Burbank's City Council and the Airport Authority operating Bob Hope Airport, a council majority approved hiring a firm to study a “concept” for replacing the existing terminal, and installing up to 3 million square feet of development on 58 acres next to the new terminal.